Extraordinary feat
4/4/2009, 9:09 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press
The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
(AP) — Demystifying Expertise@
In the hardest of times, with the presidency powering its authority, “yes we can” has become a popular mantra.
It’s not a bad thing, given the enormous obstacles before us. Too many of us do not think positively enough about each others or even our progenys potential on this planet.
In chess, it’s the other guy who can calculate far ahead, play without sight of the board, or take on a dozen or more opponents at one time.
When Bobby Fischer casually recalled in precise detail a position he had glanced at for a second or two, months later, it was interpreted as a sign of genius.
But it is an acquired skill for any professional to instantly grasp the essence of objects of his expertise. And not uncommon for him to think deeply about it and remember the original stimulus years later.
Playing 20 or 30 games simultaneously may also seem like an extraordinary feat, but we all are capable of focusing our attention serially over a large group of objects.
Even blindfold chess, as I have argued previously, is in essence a commonplace phenomenon. We all habitually see and contemplate the world in its multifarious aspects and complexity in our minds eye.
Yes, we can potentially and impressively do many things that we may consider outside our ken. Acquiring seemingly unattainable chess skills is one of them.
Here is the full article.
Both feats are hard to do.